WÃ¤rtsilÃ¤ to Design Advanced DSV for Subsea 7

WÃ¤rtsilÃ¤, the marine industry’s leading solutions and services provider, said Wednesday that its ship design unit has been hired to design a new diving support vessel (DSV) for Subsea 7.

The new VS 4725 DSV design has been custom created by WÃ¤rtsilÃ¤ Ship Design specifically for this vessel, which will be built at the Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) shipyard in Korea.

The vessel is being built to support year-round diving operations in the North Sea and therefor needs to offer high safety and good working conditions, as well as safe and efficient operations, in often challenging sea and weather conditions.

The vessel, which is scheduled for delivery in 2015, is to be designed with close co-operation between Subsea 7, HHI, Drass Energy, the diving equipment supplier, and WÃ¤rtsilÃ¤.

“The operational profile of the vessel forms the basis for every WÃ¤rtsilÃ¤ ship design. By working closely with the owners and operators to reach a complete understanding of their needs, we can design vessels that are both economically and environmentally sound, but moreover, fulfils the demands and requirements of our clients. Our more than 50 years of experience provides, of course, a solid foundation for our design solutions, and working with highly professional partners, such as Subsea 7 and HHI, is always a pleasure,” says Riku-Pekka HÃ¤gg, Vice President WÃ¤rtsilÃ¤ Ship Design.

The DSV is to be equipped with the latest integrated diving equipment, and will have six main engines housed in three separate engine rooms for maximum performance and redundancy in Dynamic Positioning (DP) Class III. Under this configuration, the systems relating to the generator sets, propulsion machinery, thrusters, electrical controls and all related auxiliary equipment, are divided into three sections. In addition to the excellent redundancy, this also ensures a high ERN (Environmental Regularity Number) score, while limiting the failure risk. In a worst case failure scenario, most of the generator sets and thrusters will remain in operation. With accommodation for 110 people, the DSV will incorporate an 18 man saturation system supplied by Drass and rated for 300m with two moon-pool deployed three man diving bells and two 18-man hyperbaric life-boats.

“The development of the WÃ¤rtsilÃ¤ VS 4725 DSV, the development of the dive system by Drass, and the overall design and building by HHI is the result of good co-operation between all the parties involved. WÃ¤rtsilÃ¤ Ship Design’s willingness and ability to adapt to the specific requirements and standards needed were key considerations in the award of this contract,” said Mr Stuart Smith, Vice President for Technology and Asset Development, Subsea 7.

This will be the third new-build DSV to join the Subsea 7 fleet in recent years, having taken delivery of the Seven Atlantic in 2010 and Seven Havila in 2011.

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